I went out to cannock today, lovely day nice and cool.
Very dry and sandy, lots of gravel.
I was riding with nobby nics front and back that were put on earlier in the year when I had a bad fall at cannock because I lost grip on a muddy section round a fast corner. I had just got myself an giant anthem which came with michelin xc tyres, not very nobbly.
It was recommended I needed nobblier tyres so I got some nobby nics.
They seemed great, nice grip on the muddy stuff and my confidence and speed went up.
Now I go out today and its very dry, I can feel the rear wheel squirming a bit, and I fall twice (at slow speed mind) on the gravel. The falls don't hurt but I loose my confidence a bit, after all if I injure myself badly I can't work, if I can't work I fail my training, which sets me back a year, this is quite a big deal.
I wasn't shaken by the falls but I seemed to loose a bit of confidence as I feel the nics werent gripping the way I wanted them to into the corners.
But as I am reletively new to this sport I don't know if its just me (and my ability) or whether I need to change the nics out for something less nobbly when the conditions get drier.
I was told by someone to maybe try a racing ralph/rocket ron in the rear would this work?
I don't want to risk having another big fall and loosing my confidence in my new sport!
fit some tyres you know work and ride again.
drop me a mail if you want to sell the nics on.
You may be already, but get off the saddle, lay the bike down a bit going into the turn and put your weight onto the outside pedal. Have a quick look in some of the rags in WHSmith to see the position. It does make a big difference, even if you only apply a little weight.
Gravel can be a bugger though.
I'd not worry about swopping tyres in and out; just ride the thing.
As a Cannock local I can say with experience that I dont like Nobby Nics up there. I too bought into the dream of Schwalbe and was very disapointed with them.
Back on trusty Maxxis rubber and life is good again. Have run a 2.35 Single ply Minion up front since Nov 2010 and never once had an issue. They roll fast enough in all but the muddiest conditons and the grip level is insanely better than the Nic's.
They seemed great, nice grip on the muddy stuff and my confidence and speed went up.Now I go out today and its very dry, I can feel the rear wheel squirming a bit, and I fall twice (at slow speed mind) on the gravel. The falls don't hurt but I loose my confidence a bit,
The most pointless thread of the day.
Tyres are not your problem, its technique, also have a look at the pressures, you are running the tyres, this makes a massive difference.
Nobby nics, are fine, other tyres are no better/worse - just different, but nothing to start worrying about.
tom,
there is nothing wrong with the nobby nics, they work in all conditions.
spending money on tyres will not fix a confidence or body position issue
I had a bad experience with the notoriously super-sketchy, Continental Twister super sonic.
Man did I crash badly on those.
I think intermediate tyres like the super sonics or racing ralphs are reported to be good, in the hands of riders who can handle a bike on these lower grip tyre types.
I can't get along with this type of tyre.
I need full grip.
So I ride Bontrager Mud X all year round.
I do not find them to be [i]draggy[/i] and I find them progressive enough that I get enough warning for me to [i]get it back[/i] should I start to go beyond my limit.
When you report a squirm from the back end.
You have checked your bike and linkages for any issues there, I assume.
Cool, thanks for the replies, I thought it was mostly a technique/body position issue. I just thought I'd ask to see what people thought as I don't get over to cannock very often so its hard to test different tyres etc. out to see!
Mr Wombat, how is a thread asking for advice pointless? if its pointless you don't have to read it!
Tyre pressures ^^, is a good one to check too.
forgot that.
🙂
solo,
the squirm I was getting before with the nics on in muddy conditions felt very controlable, the tyres would slide then bite. But today they felt very erratic in their grip if that makes sense.
I'm running them at about 30psi by the way.
we all crash at some point
it is rarely the tyres fault and you need to adapt t the dusty conditions wher ether eis less to "bite" into to
Mr Wombat,
😆
Tom.
I would bare in mind that you are fairly new to the discipline also.
Factor this in.
Nobby Nics aren't that disimilar to the Mud X, I prefer.
So, as long as the tyres are at correct pressure and are not damaged.
Then perhaps its just a case of adjusting to the prevailing conditions.
Also, try to avoid being over analytical.
Personally I'm not to fussed if the back end drifts or slides a bit.
Its the front which gets my full attention.
I hate the front end wash-out which normally results in me eating some of the scenery.
I'm based in Coventry for now.
So I guess I'll have to try Cannock one day.
stop looking at (or even thinking about) what your wheels might or might not be doing and look where you want to go
There are numerous things which affect cornering and grip, it's an aspect of riding any cyclist of any discipline will be developing until the day they stop riding/die.
I'll just go through some general points:
1. Braking: try not to when in the turn itself. When you are leaned it makes the bike tip back up and messes with your posture, tyre contact, head, etc etc. Slow in fast out!
2. Weight distribution on the bike. In general stay above the BB shell and this will keep the bike evenly planted beneath you, this is part of why we lean forward to climb and hang off the back to descend.
3. There are different combinations of body lean and bike lean relative to whether the turn is angled flat, off camber (falls away from you) or bermed. This is dictated by speed, personal style, control and terrain. This is a big area, in short you and the bike lean together when the angle is supportive, you lean more than the bike when it's flat (to present lots of rubber, the bike leans more than you for snappier bermed corners.
4. Front wheel slipping is hard to control, rear wheel slipping is fine and inevitable at speed. To correct this get your weight forward to enhance traction and steer where you want to go, the rear will follow.
5. Look through the corner, not at the bit you are worried about. This sets up your posture.
6. Outside foot down. This gives you more outside tyre edge pressure and pedal clearance.
I'll leave it there for now!
Everyone falls over, it's very easy to blame your kit when really technique is more likely to be the cause. Watch some videos of riders and see how they setup, perform and exit corners: look at the above points relative to what you see. It also takes a while to predict how new tyres behave
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It's easy to read and explains things in detail. Don't just chuck money at the problem, like so many of us do 😀
yeah get out and ride, agree with Solo, front wash outs are horrible.
defintley don't think about it, the more you analyse or get scared of what you are going to hit, you probably will hit the obstacle, you'll be more tense which invariably leads to a crash and most importantly you'll stop enjoying it
just pick yourself up, start slowly and enjoy it, speed will come later
I had the same problem with my anthem at the beginning. It took me a long time to set the suspension right, coming from hardtails this was not easy. Make sure the rear is not too soft otherwise you don't load the front tyre enough and it doesn't grip. Someone else might have another fix but worked for me.